Read the Samsung document Apple cites as proof of copycat charges

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The billion-dollar patent trial between Apple and South Korea's Samsung Electronics just got a little bit juicier.

Apple's lawyers have uncovered a Samsung internal report from 2010 that features direct comparisons between the icon designs of the iPhone and the Galaxy S.

The document delves into the weaknesses of the latter's design, pointing out ways that the Galaxy S might try to be more like the iPhone.

Though Apple says that the report shows that Samsung proactively tried to copy their designs, Samsung is likely to argue that opposition research is common practice between competing companies.

The Apple vs. Samsung battle, in which Apple has accuesed Samsung of copying them, is shaping up a fundamentally important test of the nation's patent laws, Ed Black wrote Wednesday for Forbes.

"This case will decide whether companies can use patent law and design protection as a shield to insulate their market share — or if some elements of design are so intrinsic to innovation that they are fundamentally un-patentable – like rounded rectangles," Black said.

[Via Engadget]